READ 2 Thessalonians 2:10-12

2. PHASE TWO - STRONG DELUSION – vs 11.

“And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion…” 

This is really astounding. Phase one is satanic deception. Phase two is strong delusion.

"And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion..."  What cause? Because they have rejected the truth, because they are now deceived by Satan, they have made their decision.  They want the devil's error instead of God's truth and for this cause, "God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie."

In this verse you have the next two steps in the downward spiral to damnation.

A. First, "God shall send them strong delusion." Literally, God shall send them a powerful working of error. (Step four – God sends strong delusion).  The word “strong” speaks of that which is energized.  It involves a power that goes to work; the energy of error. Who does it?  God does it.

This brings us into the atmosphere of some of the strange ways of God.  What does the Bible mean when it says it is God who will send these people strong delusions? Ultimately, God will give a person what they demand.

In the Old Testament, we have the account of the Children of Israel when they came out of the land of Israel.

Moses went in to see Pharaoh, and he said, "Let my people go."  Pharaoh would say he would, then he would back out.  Have you noticed this statement along the way? "Pharaoh's heart was hardened."

If you read those passages carefully you will find sometimes it says "God hardened Pharaoh's heart." At other times it says, "Pharaoh hardened his own heart.

In fact, twenty times in that Exodus section, it mentions Pharaoh's heart being hardened.

Ten of those times Pharaoh hardened his own heart. Ten of those times it says God hardened Pharaoh’s heart.

The word “harden” is an interesting Hebrew word. It really means to twist like you were twisting a rope.  It means that as this whole process was going on God would twist Pharaoh's heart.  God will twist your heart enough to where what is really on the inside comes out.  God was revealing what was in Pharaoh's heart. God was showing, through these plagues (trials) what was in Pharaoh’s heart.

Trials always reveal what is in a person’s heart.  When you come under the hard times it will always squeeze your heart and show what's in there. What's in your heart, when the pressure is on, is what will come out of your heart.

During the Great Tribulation, when men have rejected the truth of the Gospel and have chosen satanic deception, God says, "Okay, I'll just let you have what you want." And God sends strong delusion. An energized working of error.  They just fall for it and fall for it and fall for it. That's why in the tribulation, the masses and the multitudes will fall before the Antichrist and will worship him as God.

You either choose God's Christ or you choose Satan's Antichrist. It is just that simple.

B. Next is step five - “that they should believe a lie.” – vs. 11(b) 

Similar terminology is used in the book of Romans 1. It is amazing how many parallels there are between Romans 1 and II Thessalonians 2.  In Romans 1:25 it says, “Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creation more than the Creator...”

He's talking about humanism. Humanism is the dethroning of God and the deifying of man. That's why the Antichrist is going to be the epitome of humanism. What's the number of the Antichrist? 666. Six is the number of man. 666, is the trinity of man. He will be the epitome of all that man is able to do. 

That's why it says God will send strong delusion that they will believe the lie that man is his own god. That's what is being taught today. Man is his own god.

People ask, is it right or wrong? Oh, it all depends. There are folks who will tell you that right and wrong is up to you, whatever you think about it.  They will say if you want to shack up with some other person, it may not be wrong, if it's right for you, meaningful to you. Then it is fine – NO IT ISN’T!!!

I'm here to tell you that we are not our own god, we are not the authority.  God is God. His Word is Truth. Right and wrong are determined based on what God says in His Word.

Phase number 1 - satanic deception. Three steps. They have pleasure in sin. They receive not the love of the truth. They are deceived by Satan.

Phase number 2 - strong delusion. God sends them strong delusion that they should believe a lie.

Your Friend and HIS,

Pastor Abbott

MEDITATIONS

1.  Do our choices have consequences?  Illustrate how wrong choices could result in your believing a lie?

2.  How do you reconcile “free will” with sovereignty, as the book of Exodus speaks both of Pharaoh hardening his own heart and God hardening Pharaoh’s heart?

3.  Describe what it means for a person to have “strong or energized delusion”?

4.  What is the lie of humanism?  How does this lie affect individuals?